Marketing in Africa: many markets, mobile first, radio still on

Africa is not a market. It is dozens of markets, with different languages, media, payment habits and laws. What they share, to different degrees, is a mobile-first economy, a large gap between mobile coverage and use, and media habits in which radio still matters.

• Mobile is the economy's backbone GSMA estimates that mobile technologies and services contributed $240 billion to Africa's economy in 2025, equivalent to 7.8% of GDP².
• Coverage is not use GSMA reports that 63% of Africans live within mobile broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet, against a coverage gap of 9%².
• Mobile money is a channel GSMA counted 2.3 billion registered mobile money accounts worldwide in 2025 and 593 million active in a 30-day period⁴, with Sub-Saharan Africa the industry's centre⁵.
• Radio still leads news In Afrobarometer's 2024/2025 surveys in 38 countries, 59% got news from radio at least a few times a week, ahead of television (53%) and social media (50%)⁶.
• Rules differ Nigeria vets advertisements before exposure¹⁰; South Africa requires consent for electronic direct marketing¹².

A team planning for one or more African markets has to settle:

1. Which markets to enter first, treating each as its own plan.
2. Which channels reach people who are online and those who are not.
3. Whether to use mobile money for payment, rewards or promotions.
4. Which languages, per market and per audience.
5. Which rules apply to advertising content and to direct marketing.

The method for deciding what to standardise is in global and local; the choice of channels per objective is in the mix chooser.

A useful first cut groups markets by the language of business and by region, then treats each country on its own evidence:

To choose the order of entry, run the CAGE check from global and local on each candidate: its cultural, administrative, geographic and economic distance from the markets you already serve. A neighbouring market with the same language of business and a familiar regulator can be a cheaper second step than a larger market further away; the check makes that trade-off explicit instead of leaving it to the size of the prize.

For Egypt and the Maghreb, read this piece with marketing in the Gulf and MENA, which covers Arabic register and Ramadan planning.

GSMA's Mobile Economy Africa 2026 covers the continent with 2025 data¹. Its headline figures: mobile technologies and services contributed $240 billion in 2025, equivalent to 7.8% of GDP, supported about 13 million jobs, and are forecast to reach $290 billion by 2030². The same report expects 5G to reach 21% of mobile connections by 2030¹.

The figure that matters most for a marketer is the usage gap. GSMA reports that 63% of Africans live within mobile broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet, while the coverage gap, people with no mobile broadband signal at all, is 9%². GSMA's earlier Sub-Saharan Africa report put mobile internet penetration at 27% at the end of 2023, and named the barriers: the affordability of devices, a lack of digital skills and concerns about online security³.

The implication: a plan built only for smartphones and data reaches a minority in many markets. Build for both: digital channels for people online, and SMS, radio, retail and field activation for the rest.

Mobile money wallets are where many customers pay, save and receive money. GSMA's State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026 counted more than $2 trillion in transactions worldwide in 2025, 2.3 billion registered accounts, up 268 million, and 593 million accounts active in a 30-day period, up 15%⁴. GSMA describes Sub-Saharan Africa as the enduring epicentre of mobile money⁵.

For a marketer, a wallet is three things: a way to pay, a way to reward and a source of first-party data when the customer agrees. A promotion that pays its reward into a wallet can reach customers without a bank card or an app.

The financial services hub and the telecom and technology hub list related platforms.

Where the usage gap is wide, SMS remains the channel that reaches every handset, because it needs no mobile data. Chat apps reach those who are online. On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a business pays per delivered template message, and rates vary by message category and by the recipient's country¹⁵, so the cost of the same campaign varies from market to market.

The working rules are in the messaging primer: a clear opt-in, approved templates, and a reason for every message. In South Africa the consent rule for electronic direct marketing is strict (see the rules section below)¹².

Afrobarometer's surveys of 2024/2025, in 38 countries, found radio the most common source of news: 59% of citizens got news from radio at least a few times a week, against 53% for television, 50% for social media and 13% for newspapers⁶.

The lead is shrinking: across 28 countries surveyed consistently since 2014, the share tuning in to radio at least a few times a week is down 10 percentage points on a decade earlier⁶. Afrobarometer also reports that digital media use is growing, but so are demographic divides in who uses it⁸. Country results differ: in Kenya, radio and television are used at least a few times a week by 79% and 67% of citizens respectively⁷.

For planning, that means radio deserves a line in most African media plans, especially to reach audiences the digital channels miss, and that the mix should be set country by country from the latest survey.

Language choices follow the same rule as anywhere: write natively for each audience, and decide per market rather than per continent. Three working rules:

• Write French copy for African French-speaking markets natively, with local references, rather than reusing copy written for France.
• Use national languages where the audience lives in them, especially on radio and in field activation; test scripts with native speakers.
• Keep one brand platform and transcreate the lines, as in global and local.

Advertising and data rules differ by country. This is not legal advice; check the current position with the regulator and with counsel in each market.

• Nigeria: vetting before exposure The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) requires advertisement materials to be submitted for examination and approval before they are published or aired¹⁰. The government banned foreign models and voice-over artists in advertisements targeted at Nigerians, with effect from 1 October 2022, under the ARCON Act of 2022⁹. A law firm's review noted that it was unclear how ARCON would enforce its rules on foreign digital ads that Nigerians can see but that do not target them¹¹.
• South Africa: consent for electronic direct marketing Section 69 of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) prohibits direct marketing by unsolicited electronic communication, including SMS, email and automated calls, unless the person has consented or is an existing customer; a marketer may approach a non-customer once to request consent¹². The regulations prescribe the form for that request¹⁴. The Information Regulator has found that an opt-out option did not remedy a breach of section 69(1)¹³.
• Elsewhere Data protection and advertising rules apply in many other markets; keep a register per country, owned by someone and reviewed when the law changes.

Illustrative, with no real data. A maker of packaged foods plans a launch in Nigeria, Kenya and Côte d'Ivoire.

• Markets Three country plans under one brand platform; Côte d'Ivoire's copy is written in French locally.
• Channels Radio in all three, set by country from the latest Afrobarometer results; social video and creators for online audiences; SMS for a promotion that reaches every handset.
• Promotion A cash-back reward paid into mobile money wallets, with consent recorded at entry.
• Rules Nigerian materials submitted to ARCON for vetting before exposure, with Nigerian talent; South African expansion later would need POPIA-compliant consent for SMS to non-customers.
• Measurement Redemptions and repeat purchases by market.

• Planning "Africa" as one market. Language, media and law change at each border.
• Planning only for smartphones. The usage gap leaves many people within coverage offline².
• Dropping radio. It is still the most common news source across the countries surveyed⁶.
• Running a Nigerian campaign without vetting, or with foreign talent^9, 10.
• Sending SMS to non-customers in South Africa without consent, then relying on an opt-out^12, 13.

Then use the Toolkit: the PESO channel audit to balance online and offline channels, the campaign calendar per country, and the measurement framework to agree what counts as success. The market entry hub lists related platforms.

• GSMA, The Mobile Economy Africa 2026^1, 2 and The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2024³.
• GSMA, State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026^4, 5.
• Afrobarometer dispatches on news sources and media use^6, 7, 8.
• On Nigeria's advertising rules: LawPavilion and Templars^10, 11; on POPIA: Fasken, Mondaq and the Information Regulator^{12, 13, 14}.
• On IMC Report: global and local, the messaging primer and the mix chooser.